Nitro Circus' Erik Roner Dies In Freak Accident

It is a sad day for enthusiasts of action sports everywhere, as Nitro Circus mainstay and TV host Erik Roner has died after a horrifying skydiving accident in California. He was 39 years old.

Roner was skydiving earlier today (Monday, September 28) in Lake Tahoe, California, with a group including JT Holmes and Aaron McGovern. They were serving as an opening stunt for a charity golf tournament being held in Squaw Creek, but things took a turn for the tragic when Roner, parachuting down for a landing at a high speed, ran into a tree near the landing zone and presumably died immediately upon impact as a crowd of around 120 watched. According to Teton Gravity, it took emergency workers around 40 minutes before they arrived and were able to take Roner’s body down from the tree, and he was pronounced dead.

Along with Travis Pastrana, Erik “Rubberneck” Roner has been a part of the Nitro Circus collective for years, touring and performing stunts around the world. A professional skier and B.A.S.E. jumper, he was a part of both the Nitro Circus MTV series and the 3D film released in 2012. He took part in many different sports films from Teton Gravity Research over the years, and has served as an inspiration to many in the field.

Here lately, he’s been a host on the Outside Television series Locals, which saw him traveling to and exploring lesser-known outdoor areas in communities all over the place, from Cape Town to Reno to Twin Falls. Here’s how Roner’s death was announced by Rob Faris, Outside Television’s Senior VP of Programming and Production.

There are no words that can express this tremendous loss to the Outside Television family. Erik was not only a colleague, but also a personal friend, and it was a joy to watch him celebrate life on a daily basis. We are still trying to process this tragedy.

To honor Roner, Outside Television will be running a marathon of Locals episodes on Tuesday, September 29, from 7:00 p.m. ET until 11:00 p.m. ET. Take a peek at the episode in which Roner visited the Canadian resort Whistler with Ian Mcintosh.

We here at Cinema Blend send our thoughts and condolences to Erik Roner’s family, which includes a wife and two children, and friends in their time of mourning.